CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - When a team of federal employees started digging into problems at the Charlotte Area Transit System, a decision was made to conduct two separate audits simultaneously. The final version of the second audit, released by the Federal Transit Administration in the last few months, validates years of WBTV Investigations into problems that eroded public trust in CATS leaders.
The findings also raise an important question. Can CATS bury its problems in the past? Or will the agency's issues hinder efforts from city and county leaders to push forward an ambitious transit plan and the sales tax to pay for it?
"It was not a good chapter for CATS," Charlotte Councilman Ed Driggs told WBTV. "But I think we're in a place right now where we're ready to deal with the opportunity of the sales tax and those new investments."
Driggs is one of the last surviving Republicans elected to local office in Mecklenburg County. He has emerged as an unlikely defender of CATS and the county's future transit plans.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles named Driggs as chair of the council's Transportation, Planning and Development Committee to reset the stage after the transit plan failed to gain support in the state legislature.
"The fact that I belong to the same party as the majority in the legislature was a plus," Driggs said. "And I personally liked the challenge of just trying to make this work, recognizing the issue about a new tax, which I would be presumed normally not to support."
The issues at CATS uncovered by WBTV and FTA auditors led to a mass exodus of agency leaders. The FTA specialized maintenance review audit confirmed many of WBTV's findings and highlighted problems that still need fixing.
The FTA listed eight total findings and corrective actions CATS was taking to come into compliance. Nearly every issue identified by the FTA was previously reported on by WBTV. You can read the entire audit here.
Responses CATS provided to FTA auditors indicate the outstanding problems that still need fixing are related to processes for managing its fleet, facilities and assets. For example, the light rail cars that need maintenance overhauls were included in the budget for years but CATS leaders never actually started the required maintenance.
Driggs and CATS Interim-CEO Brent Cagle have been adamant that no taxpayer dollars were misused, and the FTA report supports their claim.
"We are not under the impression that money earmarked for the truck overhaul or preventive maintenance has been misappropriated or used for other purposes," the FTA audit states. "There was money available for CATS to perform its truck overhaul; it was just a matter of having the resources in place to implement the plan."
With a change of leadership, direction and marketing, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County leaders are hoping the problems are part of the past and the agency can be trusted to manage billions of dollars in funding that would be designated for rail and bus projects.
The transit plan is widely supported among Mecklenburg County elected leaders (except for the Town of Matthews) but the most important opinions now reside in Raleigh.
While three Republican state senators recently sponsored legislation that would allow for a referendum on a one cent sales tax for transit in Mecklenburg County, getting the GOP leaders on board is a key priority. The people who currently need the most convincing are Senator Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall.
Berger and Hall recently attended a Charlotte Regional Business Alliance meeting in Charlotte where they remained open, but non-committal, about the prospect of the tax passing the state legislature. Even after that step, the tax would need to be approved by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and then county voters.
"I recognize the need for it, and I wanted to persuade other Republicans and say that this is a fundamental investment in infrastructure that we should be able to get behind," Driggs said.
The tax is just one part of the plan relying on the state legislature. Another bill that would create a new transit authority to oversee public transportation in Mecklenburg County hasn't been filed yet.
The success of the $25 billion transit plan relies partially on how persuasive one of Charlotte's last remaining Republicans is. Driggs wants to convince his party, and the public, that CATS has moved past its previous problems and that paying more sales tax can help support growth while relieving future traffic nightmares.
"I think people can be confident that if we get this to pass the money's going to be put to good use," Driggs said.